VOA Launches TV Magazine show “On Assignment”

The new program, broadcast every Friday, showcases VOA reporting from around the world, and lets front-line journalists share their experiences from the field, including some of the most challenging and dangerous trouble spots.

In our first program, reporter Sharon Behn and videographer Ilyas Khan, take viewers to Baghdad where they reported on the withdrawal of U.S. troops after a decade of war, and the dangers faced by veteran correspondents.

This week’s “On Assignment” also features Khin Soe Win, the first VOA reporter to return to her native Burma since 1995, and Carolyn Presutti who describes her recent trip to Haiti to cover the painful recovery from a devastating earthquake two years ago.

The new show is broadcast by satellite from Washington where hosts Imran Siddiqui and Alex Villarreal give viewers a back stage pass to meet our reporters in the field and provide in-depth interviews with the hosts of innovative radio and web programs.

VOA Director David Ensor says the show gives viewers a chance to sample reporting from correspondents who work in all of VOA’s 43 language services. “This program is an ideal vehicle to highlight our diverse corps of hardworking journalists around the world,” Ensor says, “and it gives them a chance to talk about issues, experiences and the behind-the-scenes content that sometimes doesn’t make it into on-air reports.”

The program can be seen on all of the satellites that carry VOA programming.

For more information contact Kyle King at the VOA Public Relations office in Washington at kking@voanews.com. Visit our website at www.voanews.com for more information about all of our programs. An online version of this release with photos can be found at www.insidevoa.com.

The Voice of America is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts approximately 1,500 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 141 million people. Programs are produced in 43 languages and are intended exclusively for audiences outside of the United States.

For more information, please call VOA Public Relations at (202) 203-4959, or e-mail us at askvoa@voanews.com. Follow us on Twitter @VOABuzz and Facebook at InsideVOA.